


Branded

by ShadCat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Feels, Friendship/Love, M/M, One Shot, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Secret Crush, Self-Acceptance, Self-Doubt, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadCat/pseuds/ShadCat
Summary: The game gives you two options:1) "Burn wrist"2) "Give up"You take the first option. But the outcome is different than in the game. Aranea doesn't come alone when she finds you.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 14
Kudos: 101





	Branded

He should have been an MT.

He wasn't even a real human. He was a... he was a clone.

Prompto felt the tremor in his limbs when he looked at the campfire, which was unable to warm him up. Not even his thick winter clothes could warm him up today. Prompto felt just as cold as the icy snowy landscape of Niflheim, which spread out in front of the cave in which he was hiding.

Prompto felt tears in his eyes as he stared at the barcode on his wrist. He was branded. He was branded and anyone who knew could see that his life was worth nothing. That he was inhuman. That none of what he knew or what he achieved in his life mattered. Because he was only created to kill. He wasn’t even born, no, he was created. As befits a death machine.

A sob came from Prompto's throat as he grabbed a stick from the fireplace with his gloved hand. He didn't want that. He didn't want everyone to see what he truly was. He didn't want to be an MT, he didn't want to be a clone. He just wanted to be Prompto.

Actually, Prompto just wanted to forget everything he had experienced. He wanted to burn the trauma from his soul. The trauma which would change him forever. Prompto had to start by getting rid of that barcode. If Noctis, Gladio and Ignis found out his origin, they would never want to have anything to do with him again. Prompto was sure of it. Then he would have lost them. His friends, who meant more to him than anything else. His friends, who also were his family.

Tears ran down the cold, freckled cheeks. He was so alone. Prompto just wanted to go back to them. He wanted to laugh with Gladio again, listen to Ignis advice and Noctis... He wanted to hug his crush and dream of kissing him without guilt. How should he ever get near the future King of Lucis again? Now that he knew he was only brought into this world to kill them all.

Prompto could no longer fight his sadness. A loud sob came from his throat as he lifted the burning stick out of the fire. He looked at the fiery wood, which lit up his face in a red glow. His tears sparkled like ice crystals on his face.

The pain in his soul shook his whole body. Everything seemed to hurt and Prompto didn't know what to do anymore. He only knew what he didn't want. He no longer wanted to be reminded that he would lose everything.

The look of the bright blue eyes fell back on the barcode and Prompto led the glowing wood to his wrist. The heat tingled his skin and he hesitated. Should he...?

But then he thought of Noctis smile again. He thought of the prince, who meant more to him than anything else in the world and on whose side he wanted to return.

Without thinking about it any longer, Prompto pressed the fiery wood against his wrist and cried out in pain. He turned his head and struggled against the impulse to throw away the source of the pain. Prompto forced the pain on himself and screamed loudly until he couldn't bear it anymore. Then he dropped the stick that clattered to the floor, even if he couldn't stop screaming. It hurt! It hurt so much!

Prompto had been burned many times during his fights. The sight of his burned skin was nothing new, but the permanent pain was. Normally he would pull out a healing potion now or one of his friends would heal him. But no, he couldn't heal that wound. Otherwise the barcode would appear again, just as Gladio's tattoos never disappeared.

Prompto bit into his jacket around his upper arm to suppress the screaming. He bit so hard that his teeth almost drilled holes in the fabric. He had to endure the pain. He had to endure the pain to get rid of that past that he didn't want to have.

"Prompto?! _What on earth are you doing_?!"

Oh, Prompto would recognize that voice under any circumstances. The voice of his best friend, who sounded terrified. Prompto raised his tear-stained face and looked to the man, who stole his heart such a long time ago.

At the entrance to the cave was Aranea, as she had left him before. Only that she wasn't alone anymore. Noctis was by her side now, dressed too thinly for the cold temperatures that prevailed here. But the prince didn't seem to mind the cold. He looked at him with such horror in his eyes before simply running towards him. Before Prompto even could react, Noctis had knelt down on the floor next to him and summoned an elixir in his hands.

"No..."

Prompto tried weakly to protest, but the future king didn't listen to him for a second. He grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled it towards himself before breaking the elixir with the other hand. The healing sparks danced on Promptos skin and his burned skin healed before their eyes. Still, Prompto felt his cheeks flush with shame when the barcode appeared right before Noctis’ eyes. The code that he had always hidden from the prince because he suspected that it could not mean anything good. Even if Prompto never suspected how terrible the meaning the code really was.

"Noctis, I'm sorry... I..."

Prompto's voice trembled so much. He had to apologize for that. He had to apologize for his own existence and that he was only created to fight Lucis. He had to apologize to Noctis for wasting so many years of friendship with him.

"You should be sorry! Nobody hurts my best friend, not even he himself!"

The prince's voice almost overturned before he pulled Prompto into his arms. The hug was warm and firm and Prompto made a surprised sound at first before forgetting everything else. Noctis’ sweet fragrance played around his nose and the body heat warmed his freezing body. It was just beautiful.

Prompto wept gently before returning the hug. He wrapped his arms around Noctis’ back and he put his face into the crook of his neck. He loved Noctis so much.

"I was so scared! I was so terrified that Ardyn would kill you...! Oh Prom, I thought I was losing you...! And that was a terrible thought!"

Prompto closed his eyes as he gently pressed his face against Noctis’ skin. These worried words were so good for his battered soul. Especially since he didn't know if Noctis would repeat them if he knew what he really was.

"I'll leave you guys alone. It seems like you can do it without me."

Aranea's voice rang out before they could hear her footsteps as she disappeared into the snow. Now they were all alone, only he and his forbidden love.

Noctis released the hug and looked Prompto straight in the face. Without hesitation, the future king raised his hand and wiped the tears from Prompto's face.

“What was that, Prom? I've been looking for you for days and couldn't find a quiet minute because I thought Ardyn would kill you. And when I finally found you, you hurt yourself?”

Noctis’ voice sounded doubtful. As if he sensed that something terrible had happened to Prompto.

Prompto swallowed and looked to the side when he saw Noctis’ look fall back on his wrist. The code he had been hiding from him for so many years.

"I-I have t-to tell you something. I've had this code f-for as long as I can remember. I n-never knew what it meant, but now I've found out. I-I should have been one of them, Noct. One of the MTs. I... I wasn't born human."

Prompto words were so quiet, almost a whisper. But Prompto knew that Noctis heard every word. He didn't look up until Noctis gently stroked the barcode with his thumb.

"So what?"

The prince's answer was so quiet that Prompto thought for a moment that he had misunderstood. He looked up and looked Noctis in the face again, but he seemed to take his words very seriously. Which almost shocked Prompto. Didn't Noctis understand what that meant?

" _So what_?! Noctis, I have no right to be by your side! I was created to fight you! I lost every right to be your friend!"

Prompto was certain that Noctis now understood. That the prince now understood that he was a danger. He had to be killed like any other enemy. But when Noctis returned his gaze, he just looked at him gently and with affection.

"Dude, I don't care. I don't care that you should become an MT or whatever it means when you say that you are not human. You're still Prompto, my best friend. And I love you the way you are. No matter what, dude."

Noctis’ voice was so warm. Prompto felt as if his voice alone warmed his whole body and he felt his cheeks flush. These were exactly the words he wanted to hear. The beautiful words he longed for. But what had Noctis said at the end ...?

"...you love me...?"

Prompto quietly repeated the words as he looked at Noctis. They were alone for the first time in ages. Only Noctis and he, after fear of never seeing each other again. Prompto was fairly certain that the prince noticed it at the same time.

The next moment Noctis leaned over and kissed him. It was a gentle, very light kiss. A fleeting touch of their lips and Noctis’ breath was brushing over his tear-wet cheeks. But it was enough that Prompto felt a wonderful warmth spread from his face all over his body. All the fears, all the worries, all the cold were immediately dispelled. Because Prompto knew one thing: If Noctis could love him, then he would also be able to love himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I always thought that Prompto should have been more comforted in this scene <3


End file.
